| 1m Dubai cruisers by 2020

Tourism officials in Dubai are
confident that the destination
will more than double its cruise
visitation in the next five years,
with one million passengers
being targeted by 2020.
Speaking to Cruise Weekly at
Arabian Travel Market yesterday,
Senior Vice President of the
Dubai Events & Convention
Bureau Hamad M Bin Mejren
(pictured) said Dubai was
continuing its regional cruise
leadership which started in 2006
when the first home-ported
vessels, from Costa and Aida,
were deployed to sail from Dubai.
From just 7,000 passengers
annually 15 years ago, Dubai this
year expects to welcome 425,000
cruise arrivals from 115 port calls
– up 30% year-on-year.
Five cruise lines will homeport
seven vessels in Dubai during
2015, with Mejren saying the
emirate is positioned as “one of
the leading [northern] winter
cruise destinations in the world”.
Key to the expected boom has
been the introduction last year
of a multiple entry visa for cruise
pax (CW 21 Aug 2014) which is
tipped to open new key markets –
in particular India and China.
Previously, visa requirements for
travellers from those countries
meant they could be paying
around 30% of the cost of their
cruise fare just in visas, with the
new option costing just US$50.
Mejren said Cruise Dubai has
been heavily promoting the new
option since it was announced,
with a roadshow in India.
The visa is also applicable for
cruise passengers from Russia,
South Africa and Brazil, as well as
almost 50 countries (like Australia
and New Zealand) where citizens
do not require a visa for the UAE.
Dubai has also been working
hard to develop cruise
infrastructure, with the opening
of a third cruise terminal.
Figures released yesterday by
Dubai Tourism which reported
strong growth in overnight
visitation for the full year in
2014 now include people staying
on cruise ships in the official
figures, signalling the increasing
importance of the sector to the
emirate’s tourism industry.